DEAN
HobbsDailyReport.com
ROCK HILL, S.C. – A trio of Lenoir-Rhyne University baseball players were first-team picks on Tuesday for All-South Atlantic Conference (SAC).
GRIGG
The selections were announced by the conference in a press release and conference coaches voted junior outfielder Justin Dean, sophomore starting pitcher John Grigg and senior relief pitcher Landon Whitson to the first-team.
Dean leads the Bears in batting average (.404), runs (59), hits (74), doubles (13), triples (seven), total bases (119), slugging percentage (.650) and on-base percentage (.500). He has started all 48 games and ranks second in batting average and first in triples in the league.
Grigg is 8-2 with a 3.12 ERA, two complete games, one shutout and 69 strikeouts. He leads the conference in wins and ranks third in ERA and was also named to the 2018 SAC Gold Glove Team.
WHITSON
Whitson set the school single-season record for saves (nine) and has a 3-1 record with a 1.17 ERA and 41 strikeouts in just fewer than 31 innings pitched.
LRU junior first baseman Alex Reynolds earned honorable mention. He is hitting .360 with four home runs and a team-leading 46 RBIs.
The Bears (27-21) are the No. 5 seed for the SAC Championship, which begins on Thursday at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn. LRU faces No. 8 seed Anderson (22-26) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
ALL-SAC BASEBALL
First-team
OF – JUSTIN DEAN, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Luke Setzer, Catawba
OF – Jarel McDade, Tusculum
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Colin Allman, Newberry
3B – Christian Stampler, Mars Hill
C – Matt Honeycutt, Mars Hill
DH – Bradley Brown, Wingate
SP – Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
SP – JOHN GRIGG, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman
RP – LANDON WHITSON, Lenoir-Rhyne
Second-team
OF – Logan Augustine, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Danton Hyman, Newberry
OF – Chandler Castleberry, Anderson
1B – Dillon Carpenter, Anderson
2B – McCann Mellett, Wingate
SS – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
DH – Heath Mitchem, Catawba
SP – Austin Turgeon, Wingate
SP – Charles Hall, Tusculum
SP – Zac Brown, Mars Hill
RP – Will Gardner, Carson-Newman
GOLD GLOVES
RF – Luke Setzer, Catawba
CF – Ty Andrus, Wingate
LF – Derek Olenchuk, Newberry
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Dalton Landsdowne, Newberry
SS – Tyler Miller, Anderson
3B – Brett Langhorne, Carson-Newman
C – Ethan Goforth, Carson-Newman
P – JOHN GRIGG, Lenoir-Rhyne
SAC Player of the Year: Chance Bowden, Catawba
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Ethan Elliott, Lincoln Memorial
SAC Freshman of the Year: Chandler Castleberry, Anderson
SAC Coach of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba
- Reported by LRU Sports Information